


Light it Up

by KrazyKeke



Category: Black Panther (2018), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Artist!Reader, Black Character(s), Black!Reader - Freeform, F/F, Headcanon, Reader-Insert, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-16
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2019-05-07 18:12:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14676630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KrazyKeke/pseuds/KrazyKeke
Summary: During this phase of life, you believe that love defines your mere existence and pain is something that cannot happen to you. However, teens must learn that love brings happiness as well as pain. Still, the pleasure that you get from a loved one far surpasses any ache that you might experience.





	Light it Up

**Author's Note:**

> This was requested and so cute!!!
> 
> Request: Imagine being a black!teen!artist and dating Shuri.

  * The two of y’all first meet when the Oakland Outreach Center is set up. Or rather, she comes across you with Beats headphones in your ears and you’re thumping your left foot to the music while spray painting Dr. King’s head to the side of the building.
  * Shuri keeps trying to get your attention by calling out to you, but of course you don’t hear her. Then she walks a little closer and that’s when you turn around and nearly shout in surprise, flailing a little and dropping the spray can, which goes off and sprays Shuri a little, causing her to cry out in response. 
  * Several Dora and King T’Challa himself come running to the rescue, but that’s what they think it is – a rescue, only to see you offering to replace the messed up article of clothing, and Shuri keeps refusing, saying that’s it’s fine, really, it is.
  * “Sister, what is going on here?” Poor T’Challa is so confused. He’s still on edge from the events that transpired in Wakanda. 
  * “Oh, brother, this is [Y/N], [Y/N] this is my brother, King T’Challa.”
  * “Yo.” Headphones around your neck, you flash your best smile and almost offer your hand for a shake before deciding not to halfway through the motion because you see the scary bald ladies staring at you in your peripherals and wiggle your fingers in a wave; awkward.
  * Crickets chirp, a tumble weed may even have passed. 
  * “Well, since everything is alright here…”
  * “Yes, yes. Everything  _is fine_.” Shuri is not so subtly telling him to get lost and he takes the hint, reluctantly and the Dora follow his lead. 
  * Then it’s the two of y’all alone and again and you just kind of stare at her for a few seconds and before the moment can turn strained, you reach down into a gym bag and offer her a new spray can. “Wanna try?”
  * “Sure!”
  * You end up showing her how to spray paint properly, but she keeps getting distracted with how well you’re doing. So instead, she just watches you work. 
  * “How long have you been doing this?”
  * “Street art? I picked this style up a year ago, a friend showed me some tricks.” You shrug, in the process of adding Michelle Obama to the wall. “I’m getting paid to do this so that’s a bonus.” 
  * “Wait, really?” There’s a pause. “You know more than one style of art?”
  * “Yep, a chore free week. And I’ve been drawing since I was like seven or eight? I haven’t decided what style I like most; cubism, photo realism, pop art…”
  * This sweet Disney princess is so confused.
  * You cough into your fist as you realize and explain that your mom is the one in charge of the center, that she’d, for lack of better term, ‘hired’ you to spray paint some historic figures to the building.
  * “I can’t tell if she wanted it done to have an excuse to hang out or because she wanted to seem hip and that’s the scary part.”
  * “Adults can be weird.”
  * “I know right?!”
  * Then when you take a break, you and the princess talk, trading memes and jokes. A couple walks by, walks by, the guy blasting music loud af and you’re acting on impulse before you can stop yourself; you get up and dance. 
  * The couple hypes you up and soon a few other teens come out of the center and joins in on the fun, dancing with you. 



  * Y’all are actin’ a whole ass fool, but who cares?!!! 
  * Shuri stands on the sidelines, watching and cheering. And while that’s cute…
  * “Yoink!” You reach out and snag her hands, coaxing her to you. “Come on, dance wit us.”
  * “No, no. I-I really can’t…” 
  * “Nobody cares ‘bout how goofy you might look. We all black here, so we fam.” 
  * You repeatedly hip check her, making silly faces until she concedes. Directing her only a little, you’re unsurprised when her natural rhythm kicks in and she really lets loose when nobody makes a big deal about the Princess of Wakanda dancing with them.
  * The two of y’all are having so much, everybody’s having a good time and somehow you and Shuri have migrated so that you’re dancing very close. You glance in her direction, she’s looking at you and you’re looking at her, the sun is shining and highlighting the beauty of y’all’s melanin brown skin and it hits you, really hits you, that wow, she’s cute.
  * You sway forward, about to do something colossally stupid…
  * “Disperse!  **DISPERSE**! Y/N’s mama is comi–”
  * “The hell is goin’ on ‘round here?!”
  * It’s shocking how quick everybody leaves. Niggas is really jumpin’ fences and shit to get the hell out the way of the danger zone. Traitors. 
  * “H-hey, mama,” You raise a hand in a limp wave, “Look, I can do the moon walk.” 
  * King T’Challa coughs into his fist.
  * The look of death she sends you is enough to make the bottom of your stomach feel like it’s fallen out. You can kiss that chore free week goodbye cuz you grounded, chile. 
  * Your mom grabs you by the ear, hissing underneath her breath that she outta smack you into space so that you land on the moon and you wince with every step, letting out little ‘owie’s every steps.
  * When you dare to sneak a glance back, T’Challa is saying something to Shuri and it doesn’t look good, but she looks at you briefly.
  * And as stupid and Bella Swan cringe-worthy a thought as it is, you wonder if you’re ever going to see her again?
  * “Bring yo ass on, [Y/N]!”
  * “Yes ma’am!”
  * Weeks pass and you’re not allowed to be on any social media or have access to your phone. Literally, you’re to go to school, come home and that’s it.
  * You’re practically climbing the walls, doodling and drawing Shuri’s face in your notebook. You don’t know what to do, what should you do?
  * And just when you think that the world has ended, a miracle happens. There’s a knock on the door of the apartment that you share with your matriarch and when you open it, you see that it’s Shuri, accompanied by a member of the Dora, naturally. Thank God it’s just one though. 
  * “May I…come in?”
  * You probably should say no but what kind of idiot says no to royalty, and even more, to Shuri when she’s looking at you so shyly, so hopefully? No one, that’s who. You let her in.
  * “I’ll be right outside if you need me, Princess.” 
  * “Thank you, Ayo.”
  * You’re confused about what’s going on but you don’t look a gift’s horse in the mouth when the fierce bald lady closes the apartment door gently and now it’s just you and Shuri. Alllll alone.
  * “S-Soda! Gah, I’m so dumb, and a bad host. Do you want somethin’ to drink, to eat?” You don’t know why you’re shy now, but you turn about to go and run to the kitchen. 
  * “You really weren’t kidding when you said you’d been drawing for a long time. This is very detailed.” 
  * Oh my God. Turning, you see that Shuri is holding up a doodle of her, a slight teasing expression on her face. 
  * Feeling a rush of embarrassment, you walk forward, about to snatch it out of her hand, but she dodges the attempt, placing a hand on your shoulder. 
  * “I like this, I want to keep it.” Shuri says simply. 
  * You shake your head about to refuse. 
  * “And I like you.” 
  * Heart speeding up, your eyes dart around the room, totally out of your depth. 
  * Her hands are gentle as she coaxes you to look at her, “I like you. I really, really like you. I have not met anyone quite like you, [Y/N] and I want to get to know you better. If you want to date me. …You do right, want to date me?”
  * Oh. My. Goooooooooooooooooooood. Nodding dumbly, your voice is gone so you’re just nodding for a second and she looks so concerned at first, that you manage to croak, “Yes. Yes, I definitely want to date y–”
  * She kisses you. Just a little peck but it feels like your brain is melting a bit. And then she looks so nervous after that you initiate the next kiss. 
  * The two of y’all spend close to an hour hanging out. You watch some movies with her, explaining cultural references, memes are exchanged (again), and sometimes kisses are shared while Ayo pretends to be totally invested in the book she’s reading.
  * You learn that the video (ofc a video was taken) of the Wakandan Princess dancing at the Center had gone viral and while there’s some haters,  ~~mainly white folks~~ , it’s lit af and people think that Wakanda is less stuck up and more cool. 
  * Shuri also confides that her brother, the king, (”he really is a nerd, I promise”) had managed to convince your mom to let Shuri see you again, but only with supervision, aka Ayo.
  * “Ya brother pretty slick.”
  * She puffed up with pride. “I know, he learned it from me.”
  * Of course, dating the Princess isn’t always peaches and cream; she’s not just another black girl from Oakland, she’s royalty even though she insists on being treated normally when y’all are together. 
  * And you most certainly do your best not to be cowed by her status or to get the big head. So it’s a delicate balance.
  * Lots of communication. 
  * Honestly, lots of communication, it’s a must. 
  * There are hugs and kisses, hand holding, it’s all pretty tame. 
  * Just as she learns about your passion for art, you learn about her passion for science and while you’re not totally on her level, you know enough to keep up, whatever you don’t understand, you not shy to ask questions about. 
  * What you have together, it works. It’s perfect. It’s–
  * “I love you.”
  * The two of y’all are curled up on the couch in the apartment and watching some old black and white horror film, hands above the covers. Her head rests on your shoulder and your arm is around her, keeping her close to your rib cage. 
  * “Ditto. I love you too.” You flick some popcorn at her and she wrinkles her nose, poking your side and you laugh, as that’s a ticklish spot. Then it devolves into a pillow fight. 
  * Eventually, though, the Oakland Outreach Center is declared a success; she and T’Challa have to leave. 
  * You cling to her for a long time and she clings just as tightly, you don’t care that your shirt is soaked from her tears or about propriety as you console her as best you can. 
  * “Hey. Hey.” You rest your forehead against hers. “I love you, remember? And you love me too, right?”
  * “Yes…” 
  * “Then that means more than you can ever know. No matter what happens tomorrow, or in the future, I promise to always love you. And just to prove that I mean what I’m saying…” Someone lets down the white sheet covering up the building, revealing Shuri and T’Challa’s face has been added. 
  * “[Y/N]…”
  * “I know, I know. It’s totally extra af, and I wanted it to be just  _you_ up there, to remember when I got sad we’ll be so far apart, then others got salty and wanted King T’Challa there too, so I said whatever and did it so they’d shut up but there’s FaceTime and Skype, and, and, oh God, I had a whole speech planned–”
  * Just like the first time, she kisses you. And just like always, it calms you right down. 
  * For as long as y’all can, y’all cling to one another, but King T’Challa eventually, gently, ushers his sister onto the Royal Talon Fighter.
  * ~~And you want to go too. You want to go too. Don’t leave me, here.~~
  * Biting the inside of your cheek as hard as you can, your eyes are dry and you smile, waving as the space craft takes off. 
  * The sun is shining and it’s so beautiful today, but you can’t see anything past the blur of tears trickling down the side of your cheeks and neck. You’re gripping your mama’s hand so hard but she doesn’t complain, doesn’t utter a word, just ushers you to the car. 
  * When you get home and log onto Skype that night, you see that Shuri has already sent you a message and you smile. 
  * Maybe this long distance thing can actually work?



**_SPOILER ALERT_** : It does, work that is.


End file.
